Plagiarism Prevention And Detection

Running head: Plagiarism Prevention and Detection

Korey C. Whitley

University of Phoenix Online

July 18, 2005

As you are aware, plagiarism is an increasing problem on college campuses, in many cases as an apparent direct result of the Internet's ability to provide access to not only large amounts of information but also entire research and term papers. Not all of the downloaded papers lead to plagiarism, but many do.

The age-old issue of plagiarism has become magnified in an era of copy-and-paste technology. Plagiarism is a difficult concept to define. It includes a range of actions from failure to use proper citation to wholesale cheating. A student who plagiarizes may do so unintentionally or with planful deliberation. According to encyclopedia Britannica, plagiarism is "the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one's own". This report will dig deep in to that definition and find out why plagiarism has become such a problem in today's society. This reports intention is to make the reader more aware of this issue and more self-conscious about the work produced. The Internet will be the source for a great deal of the statements used in the report because the topic is such a new issue and the fact that definitions are constantly changing. It was only a few yeas ago that plagiarism only referred to the copying of literature. Now this fraudulence is very closely related to forgery and piracy. The age-old issue of plagiarism has become magnified in an era of copy-and-paste technology.

Most students may want to know, exactly, what are the signs that teachers look for in plagiarized papers. Well, it is very simple. On the high school or undergraduate level, teachers may notice that students use Words or phrases that are too sophisticated for the average undergraduate, the topic or conversation of the paper is too broad or it does not fit the constraints of the assignments, or the citation style of the paper is of an advanced researcher.

According to author, Earl Babbie plagiarism is wrong for several reasons. First, it is lying. If you have been asked to write something as evidence that you have grasped the materials of the course you are taking, offering someone else's work as evidence is a lie. Second, it is an insult to your fellow students. When you plagiarize, just as when you cheat on an exam, you treat unfairly those who play by the rules. You seek an unfair advantage over them, and inevitably, you will find yourself looking down on those who devote their time and energy to the task which you have cheated on. Third, when you use other people's words and ideas without their permission, it is stealing. It would be wrong to sneak into a factory and steal the products manufactured there during the day, and in the academy, words, ideas, paintings, compositions, sculpture, inventions, and other creations are what we produce. It is wrong to steal them and claim them as your own.

As prevalent as plagiarism may be in this day and age, there are ways and means to prevent it. The first step in the prevention of plagiarism should be that of discouragement. According to the researcher at the Staley Library